In the decade since the FDA cleared the first deep brain stimulation device to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (Medtronic’s Activa), it’s become established a safe, effective option along the spectrum of care. But Geoff Thrope, the founder and managing director of venture and commercialization firm NDI Medical LLC, said that technology hasn’t changed much since it first came out. Now, as other companies advance me-too deep brain stimulation devices in the U.S. and bring them to market in other countries (read: St. Jude Medical and Boston Scientific), there’s a market opportunity for technology that can make the newer devices different and better. NDI has spun off a new portfolio company, Deep Brain Innovations, to do just that. CEO Thrope said NDI has been working with Warren Grill, a professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University, over the past several years to identify needs of clinicians that weren’t being met by existing DBS technology.